Fracture of nanoporous thin-film glasses

Fracture of nanoporous thin-film glasses is a significant challenge for the integration of these mechanically fragile materials in emerging microelectronic and biological technologies. In particular, the integration of these materials has been limited by accelerated cracking rates in moist environments leading to premature failure. Here, we demonstrate how cracking is affected by aqueous solution chemistry, and reveal anomalously high crack-growth rates in hydrogen peroxide solutions frequently encountered during device processing or when in use. Kinetic mechanisms involving the transport and steric hindrance of reactive hydrogen peroxide molecules at the crack tip are proposed. Thin-film design strategies that involve energy dissipation by local plasticity in thin ductile layers on increasing the resistance to cracking of nanoporous glass layers is demonstrated. Understanding how aqueous solutions influence cracking and associated device reliability is a fundamental challenge for these promising materials to be viable candidates for new technologies.